Justin Trudeau Hopes to Reset Relations with China During First Official Visit

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is en route to China Monday in hopes of resetting the relationship between the two countries.

To start his week-long trip, Trudeau is set to attend a host of business-related meetings in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong with the aim of building the economic connection between China and Canada. The Chinese government has seen the election of the Liberals as an opportunity to strengthen the economic ties that bind.

Trudeau, who is travelling with his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, will then attend the G-20 leaders’ summit in Hangzhou.

“One of the things that we saw over the past decade in China Canadian relations were a level of inconstancy, the previous government went from hot to cold on various files and didn’t have the kind of robust and stable engagement that allows for the covering of broad range of topics in strong and meaningful ways,” said Trudeau ahead of his trip.

Trudeau has said he will continue voicing Canada’s human rights concerns to China’s leadership.

“Canada has earned a reputation as a country that stands up strongly and clearly for human rights, and working with Canada is a positive way will be very good for China to continue to demonstrate that it is serious about taking on the responsibilities that come with having and increasingly large footprint on the world stage,” said Trudeau.

China’s ambassador to Canada says his country has been making strides in addressing international concerns.